Midtown is under threat of developing into a mass of tall towers with a population that could balloon to over 90,000 people - all squeezed into an area of one square kilometre.
What’s the Issue?
Oakville is committed to developing plans for future growth across Oakville. One of our identified growth areas is Midtown, situated near the Oakville GO Station. We Love Oakville fully supports the development of Midtown with increased intensification to support provincial requirements and provide additional housing with easy access to rail transit.
Our vision for Midtown is a complete, livable community that is a great place to live, work, and visit. We support Council’s direction to staff to provide a plan for a Midtown development plan based on a density ratio of 35,000 people and jobs, which could produce the kind of liveable community we seek. Staff’s proposed Official Plan Amendment (OPA) reflecting its interpretation is expected this fall.
Unfortunately, over the past several months, Midtown has seen an onslaught of development applications from a single builder to construct 11 skyscrapers ranging from 44 to 61 stories that could house between 11,000 – 15,000 people in the centre of Midtown in a 5-hectare area - that’s equivalent to half the size of Oakville place and its parking lot!
If the rest of the 43 developable hectares of Midtown were developed at this level of density, this could result in over 90,000 people in Midtown, which would put Midtown beyond the highest density levels of any city in North America. This is unacceptable and it is not needed to achieve the province’s minimum density targets
A successful development of Midtown requires a compelling vision, comprehensive long-term planning, and a fair and equitable approach to paying for the needed infrastructure investment. Town staff continue to work on their response to the Council’s request for a Midtown development plan based on a population estimate of 35,000 people and jobs, which could produce the win-win solution we need. Their revised OPA is expected this fall.
To further complicate matters, the Ministry of Infrastructure Ontario has announced it is now investigating whether they will build a Transit Oriented Community (TOC) on lands adjacent to the GO station. What is deeply concerning is that this feasibility assessment is being conducted in secret, with no public input, under a provincially mandated confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement. This lack of transparency and public engagement destroys public trust and raises suspicions that the TOC is concealing favouritism and conflicts of interest. This fall, An announcement on their feasibility assessment results is also expected.
Why should I care?
The impacts of poor planning and high density in Midtown will have ramifications across the town, including traffic, taxes, housing affordability, schools, and livability.
Traffic Impact
The already heavily congested areas along Trafalgar Rd, Cornwall, and Speers, will turn into gridlock - and not just during rush hour times. Exiting the QEW at Trafalgar will be a challenge.
Commuting to and from the Midtown GO Station will take even longer. The same applies to the time it will take to access downtown, the lake, or other destinations when traveling from the North.
Financial Repercussions
Your tax bill will have to pay for a new city in the middle of Oakville. The needs of Midtown with hyper-density in terms of services and Infrastructure will not be covered by the developers. The shortfall will be significant to support a community of this size and it will fall on ALL Oakville taxpayers.
Schools, Parks & Recreation
Schools are always the last to be built and a limited number and size of schools will be created within the condos of Midtown. That means children will be bussed to other neighbourhoods impacting those schools.
As a result of new Provincial rules on how much parkland dedication municipalities can take from developers, local greenspace in Midtown will be significantly reduced. That means increased pressure on trails, parks, and other open greenspace in other areas of Oakville.
Liveability
A significant percentage of Midtown’s housing units will be too small for families or couples. The result is that Midtown becomes a ‘way station’ - an area where there is a high turnover of occupants who move to more appropriate housing as soon as they possibly can. That means less sense of accountability and care for surroundings, a loss of the feeling of community, and less ability to create a sense of neighbourhoods.
For a full outline of “why should you care” especially if you live outside the midtown area, read our post here.
What’s to be done?
There are too many cooks in this kitchen with conflicting agendas, incentives, and priorities. This is not a formula for success.
We need to course correct. And we need to do it now or the opportunity for a win-win solution will be lost. Midtown must be planned as a whole community, not on an ad hoc or piecemeal basis.
Given the work the Town is completing on the Draft Official Plan Amendment and pending news regarding the TOC proposal, we expect to have more updates shortly and will be seeking community input and engagement.
Please take time to educate yourself.
Use the resources on our newly rebuilt weloveoakville.org to find facts, answers to common questions, and background information about Midtown and the challenges it faces.
Sign up for email updates and opportunities for you to get involved. We anticipate town hall meetings, letter-writing campaigns, and other forms of active citizen engagement.
Share this email, social media posts and encourage your friends and neighbours to be informed and engaged.
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